


Sisterhood

by TheCacklingLass



Series: Scenes From The Astral Plane [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: F/F, Grief/Mourning, Spoilers up to Chapter 17, Trans Female Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-11
Updated: 2016-04-11
Packaged: 2018-06-01 15:38:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6526111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCacklingLass/pseuds/TheCacklingLass
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Felicia has a talk with Corrin about Flora and her childhood before they met.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sisterhood

Felicia kneels amidst a cluster of broken dishware, numbly picking up the shards and placing them on the sheet beside her. She doesn’t seem to notice the cuts accumulating on her fingers or the blood staining the ceramics as she mindlessly goes about her task, nor does she notice Silas’ voice growing closer, even after he rounds the corner with Corrin in tow.

“…just sitting there, staring at-“ He cuts off when he sees her, and he and Corrin stare for a moment before sharing a look. “…I think I’ll let you handle this one,” he says quietly, patting her on the shoulder encouragingly before stiffly walking away again. Corrin moves to crouch in front of Felicia, who still doesn’t appear to be aware of the company.

“Felicia?” Corrin asks, as gently as she can, though she receives no response as the maid simply continues to move, mechanically picking up the mess piece by piece. “Felicia?” She tries again, still to no avail, so she grabs her by the wrists and says, more forcefully this time, “Felicia!”

“Ah!” Felicia gasps, dropping the shard in her hands with a start, then looks up at Corrin in confusion, “L-lady Corrin? How long have you been there?”

“Not long. Silas told me you were acting strange, so I came to find you. What are you doing?”

“I- I dropped these plates so I… I have to pick them up…”

"No, I mean why are you doing that with your bare hands?”

“Milady?” Felicia’s brow furrows and she looks down at her hands, only then noticing the multitude of cuts decorating her palms and fingers, “Oh,” she reacts, absently.

“C’mon,” Corrin stands, then helps Felicia do the same, “Let’s get you to the infirmary.”

“B-but the mess I made…” Felicia protests, even as she lets her mistress lead her in the direction of the medical building.

“Don’t worry, I’ll have Jakob come clean it up later.”

“Really, Milady, this isn’t necessary, I-I’ll be fine.”

“Yes, you will, because we’re going to the infirmary to get you patched up.”

“I-“

"I’ll order you to get yourself looked after if that’s what it takes,” Corrin’s voice comes out stern, but quickly softens again, “But I’d rather not have to do that, so please, just come with me, okay?”

“Y-yes, Milady,” she complies meekly, following her the rest of the way in silence. 

* * *

Azama is on duty when the two of them arrive in the infirmary – which is otherwise empty - and though he immediately raises an eyebrow, a look from Corrin prematurely quashes any remarks the monk may have made. The three of them are silent as he goes to work on Felicia’s hands. Felicia, for her part, refuses to meet the gaze of the other two, simply sitting and staring at her hands in shame as Azama cleans and bandages them. When he is finished, Corrin politely asks him to give them some time, and with a nod he leaves the two women to their business, and she sits down next to her friend on the cot.

“You know, Felicia,” Corrin eventually begins, after several minutes of silence, “When you do stuff like this, people worry.”

“What? But I drop dishes all the time and hardly anybody ever bats an eye anymore.”

“Not what I meant,” she shakes her head, “I meant the reckless disregard for your own wellbeing. This is the third time this week you’ve spaced out and hurt yourself, and people are starting to talk.”

“All due respect, Milady, but gossip about me is nothing new.”

“It’s not gossip, it’s concern. You haven’t been yourself since… since Flora died,” Felicia stiffens, and Corrin places a sympathetic hand on her arm, “Look… I know what it’s like to lose someone you’re close to, but-“

"No, you don’t!” Felicia snaps, throwing Corrin’s hand off and standing up, “How could you possibly? All of your siblings are still alive! You can’t even begin to imagine what I’m going through!”

“Felicia, that's-“

“And don’t even try to tell me that you’ve lost friends, because that doesn’t even begin to compare! Flora was the only one who ever cared about me, and she…” tears well up in her eyes and her voice shakes. She speaks her next words more quietly “…she abandoned me.”

"Felicia, that’s not true. Everyone here cares about you. That’s why we’re worried.”

“…Have you ever wondered why she was so protective of me?” Felicia asks, and Corrin’s response is a look of curiosity. She laughs, a hollow and empty sound, and begins to elaborate.

“When the two of us were born, our father was overjoyed. He thought he’d had a son, someone who could carry on his lineage and lead the tribe when he was gone, but… as I got older, I just didn’t feel… right. I knew I was a girl.

“Father didn’t like that very much. He was resistant, at first, but Flora always stood up for me. She even threatened that we’d both run away if he didn’t start treating her little sister the way she deserved. He liked that even less, so he gave in, and from that day forward he doted on me just as much as he did on Flora.

“Fortunately for me, the Ice Tribe has some of the most skilled mages in the land, so I never had to worry about… developing, and for the most part our people are very accepting. Even Father’s issues were more with not having an heir than anything else, and the few people who did have an issue always had Flora to deal with.

“And then, as you know, we were taken from our people and our family by King Garon. The Nohrians are… significantly less open than the Ice Tribe. I knew that if anyone ever found out about me, I would be executed on the spot. It was terrifying, keeping that secret for so many years, but Flora promised she’d always protect me. Now that she’s gone, I… I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

Corrin’s expression is unreadable, and for a moment Felicia wonders if she’s made a horrible mistake by telling her all this. Her fears are dispelled in the next instant, however, when Corrin gathers her thoughts enough to speak.

“You’re right, Felicia,” she says, slowly, carefully, “I don’t know what it’s like to lose a confidant like that. But,” she stands up and takes a step toward the maid, who manages not to take a step back in response, “If it wouldn’t be too presumptuous, I may have a suggestion for how to move forward.”

“Presumptuous?” Felicia begins stammering again, her station and sense of propriety rushing back to her all at once, “N-no, Milady, o-of course not! I-if anything, I’m the one being presumptuous, u-unloading all this on you!"

“Felicia, please,” Corrin steps forward, gingerly taking the maid’s bandaged hands in her own, “I’m your friend, and friends listen to each other.”

"O-oh,” Felicia’s cheeks light up pink at the contact, but she quickly shakes it off and asks, “What was your suggestion, then?”

“Well, that was it, actually,” she smiles somewhat sheepishly, “Just… talk to us, okay? I know you may not be on the best of terms with everyone but find someone who gets you and is willing to listen. How do you think I stay sane?"

“Lady Corrin… I…” the tears return to her eyes, and this time she makes no attempt to hold them back. She breaks down all at once, and Corrin pulls her close, allowing her to weep into her chest, strong arms comforting her gently.

They stand there for quite some time, even once Felicia's sobs subside. Eventually, it is the maid who pushes away, though she does so regretfully.

"Th-thank you, Milady," She sniffles, wiping the last bits of moisture from her eyes, "I...I've been holding that in for a while."

"Of course," Corrin smiles beatifically, "That's what friends do."

Felicia notices that though their embrace may be over, their contact is not, and Corrin is still holding her hands. She blushes again and averts her gaze, but makes no move to remove them, and she takes a step closer, surprising herself. She looks up, directly into her eyes, and moves her face closer, slowly, cautiously, and is more surprised than not when the other woman does the same. Their lips meet.

This time, the silence lasts a few seconds, but feels for all the world like a blissful eternity. They part and Corrin brings a hand up to wipe away more tears that Felicia isn't even aware she's shedding, and she laughs, a tiny little titter that quickly catches on and snowballs into giggling until princess and maid both can hardly breathe. By the time they're finished they've both made their way back to the cot, and Corrin touches their foreheads together, staring deeply into the other's red-rimmed eyes.

"Lady Corrin, I- Oh!" Felicia is cut off by a finger brought to her lips, and Corrin shakes her head, giggling again.

"Don't you think it's about time you dropped the honorifics?" she asks.

"Of course, Mi- Corrin," the name feels strange on her tongue by itself, but makes her feel simultaneously as though she's swallowed butterflies. She notices, for the first time, that she is not the only one with a thick layer of pink on her cheeks.

"There. Isn't that easier?" Felicia nods by way of response, and Corrin stands up, offering a hand to help her up as well, "As much as I'd like to continue this, I think it better if we find somewhere a little more private. We seem to have attracted a bit of an audience," Corrin raises her voice for the last few words, and Felicia looks over to the doorway just in time to see a small crowd scatter, tripping over each other in their haste. She feels her blush deepen, out of embarrassment this time, and shrinks into herself, but Corrin takes her hand again and beams at her.

"You have all of us now," the princess says, "And I know we can't replace Flora, but we'll help you through this, and if anyone gives you trouble, I will personally punish them, okay?"

"Okay," the maid nods, smiling back, "Thank you, Corrin."


End file.
